I â&#x20AC;&#x2122;m Soa, I am a self-reliant, adventurous seven-year old, who is
often more brave than I even know. I live in Africa with my

family and best friend, Franky. We are fun-loving, curious
African kids who never stop finding the excitement in learning.
Come share some of our amazing and enchanting adventures as we
explore our exotic home.

Are you ready?

Great, Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s go!
2

T his was going to be a big day for Soa; it was the first

day of school. Teacher Ann called the roll, and
everyone suddenly realized that Franky was absent.
Soa was confused and discouraged that her best friend
wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t at the first day of class.

4

Walking home later that afternoon, Soa was still so

disappointed about Franky that she didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t notice Moka
just up ahead of her buzzing about.

“What-zzzz wrong?” buzzed Moka.
“My friend Franky must be sick,” said Soa.
Moka menacingly snickered, “Oh, I wonder what could have
happened to poor Franky?”

6

S OA

a

e
rr i v

d

e...
m
o
h
at

...and invited Moka inside.
“Moka, why did you snicker earlier when I asked about Franky?”
asked Soa.
The always-witty Moka replied, “It’s just my nature.”
Still confused, Soa asked Moka several more questions, “Well,
are you friends? Can you tell me if Franky is sick?”
Moka snickered. “Well, let’s just say that he won’t be inviting
me over again!”

8

Well, after such a long day,
Soa was exhausted and
quickly fell asleep. It soon
became clear that Moka was
not a friend of Frankyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, and he
wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be a real friend to Soa either.
You see, Moka and his friends merely wanted
to trick Soa for one reason:

blood!

If only Moka could bite Soa, he could
finally have his dinner!

10

Soa awoke bright and early the next morning and
thought to herself, “I wonder if Franky is feeling
better today?” But before she could even put her feet
on the floor, she noticed

huge, RED itchy bumps

on her arms. She saw Moka sneaking out through an

open window, snickering even louder than before.
“Hmmm, I wonder if Moka knows where these bites
came from?” But first she must get ready for
another fun day at school.

12

I t had been a whole week of class, and still no Franky!

Worried more and more, Soa decided to go visit him.

14

“Lo

”
!
k
o

r a n ky. . .
F
d
e
t
u
sho

“ Y ou have the same bumps as me! Did Moka get you too?” Asked
a worried Franky.

Surprised, Soa replied, “I don’t know if it was Moka or one
of his friends! Do you think that Moka got you sick?”
“Sure do. The doctor told me I got malaria from a moka
bite!” Franky declared, “he also told me not all Mokas have
malaria!”

16

â&#x20AC;&#x153;O h, how do you know if you have malaria?â&#x20AC;? asked Soa.
Well...

H er head still full with questions, Soa decided to walk to
school in search of answers about malaria.

W hile walking back to school, Soa saw Tommy, the local Peace
Corps Volunteer, painting a mural on the side of the classroom
that served as the official bulletin wall.
â&#x20AC;&#x153;I wonder what Tommy is painting?â&#x20AC;? wondered Soa curiously.
20

“ H ello Soa, come have a look!” said Tommy.
“We’re painting a mural about ways to prevent malaria!”
Now Soa was a pretty good learner, so when Tommy asked, “Can you
see all the ways to prevent getting bit by the menacing Moka?”
“Sure can,” Soa replied eagerly.

Let’s see…

Use
i m p r e g n at e d
mosquito nets

es and
Wear long sleneivght
p a n t s at

Eat a balanced diet

Use repellents and Plant tomatoes and
citronella around the house

side
n
i
r
e
t
a
ing w house
d
n
a
t
s
y
Cover and outside of the
an

22

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Tom

W

mal

ari

a

?â&#x20AC;?

,
y
m

l me more ab
l
e
t
u
o
y
out
ill

5 Gametocytes

the
4 then
blood cells

2 sporozoites
3

parasite then
enters the liver

A fter learning from Tommy, Soa decided to combat Moka,
starting at the market.

“What’s a little girl like yourself doing
buying all this food?” asked the tender vendor.
“I need to eat a healthy diet, and I
want to share with my family,” replied Soa,
“hmmm, let’s see. I need fish, vegetables and fruit please!”
26

Determined, Soa got to work planting her new plants
outside all the windows of her familyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s house.

“O h, I have extra plants. I should take some to
Franky’s! If I can’t make Franky better, I’ll
try to make sure he doesn’t get sick from
Moka again,” Soa bravely declared.

28

“So

,a

wha

doi
u
o
y
e
t ar

ng?”

...asked Mr. Rigobert, Franky’s father.
“Hi, Mr. Rigobert. I’m preventing malaria by planting these
plants because Moka and his friends don’t like them. Now I
know that a moka is what made Franky sick.”
Mr. Rigobert, a scientist, nodded his head in approval, “That
makes sense Soa, I think I’ve read that they do repel Moka.”

30

What a fun but tiring day it was for Soa! But even before
bed, Soa remembered other lessons from Tommy. Sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll sleep
nice and warm in her pajamas, even better than before.
She wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have to worry about Moka and his
menacing friends now.
Meanwhile, Moka watched and listened
to the stories, starting to worry that
Soa might have discovered his
menacing plans.
Moka was in for a long, thirsty night!

32

“That clever girl hung a net?! How am I supposed to get past this?
Wait! I can’t even see her delicious arms,” Moka cried.

Just before closing her eyes to dream about future adventures
with Franky, Soa whispered through the mosquito net, “I’m
on to you, now buzz off Moka!”

34

“OH N

OO

”

cri

oka
M
d
e

.

“Franky, are you ready for more adventures?” asked Soa
bright and early the next morning.
“I sure am now that I’m feeling much better!” replied an
eager and cheery Franky.
Franky’s dad was very amused. “Oh you two! Don’t go
searching for lions or anything too crazy. But be sure to
tell me if you find any lemurs,” he said.
“Oh, and be sure to bring back some tomatoes. I’ve heard
that Moka and his friends hate them.”

T hanks for joining us for our story, with the menacing Moka.
Our curiosity and excitement have taught us a lot about
malaria. Now itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s your turn to find the fun in learning.
Find the chameleon throughout the story and when you see
him you can learn a new word.

Words in

Malagasy

MALAGASY
MPAMPIANATRA
NAMANA

ENGLISH
TEACHER
FRIEND

PRONUNCIATION
tee-cher
frend

MOFO
AKONDRO
MANANASY

BREAD
BANANA
PINEAPPLE

bred
buh-nan-uh
pahy-nap-uh l

TAZO MOKA
MARARY
SALAMA!
VELOMA!

MALARIA
SICK
HELLO!
GOODBYE!

muh-lair-ee-uh
sik
he-loh!
goo d-bahy!

SEKOLY
TRANO
TSENA

SCHOOL
HOME
MARKET

skool
hohm
mahr-kit

Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m Soa, I live in Africa with my family
and best friend, Franky. Come
share some of our amazing adventures
as we explore our exotic home.

M o ka
Malaria is a disease carried by the
Anopheles mosquito who bites at night.